few questions about DE razor shaving……

A 3 pass shave actually isn’t that time consuming. I do three workday shaves a week. But once you get the hang of it, you would probably set the alarm a little earlier to have time to shave.

This is seriously one of the best personal grooming things I have ever done.

youre right mate, the times negligible and the results would be better im sure. i think some of us (certainly myself) do less passes at the moment to cut down on irritation/razor burn. if you can get away with it so much the better, i hope to end up doing 3 passes eventually.
although you could ask, is there any need to do 3 each day? after 24hrs, surely youve probably only got a final pass worth of growth to deal with anyway?

I fear that sadex is now

and may never get out… 😯

Well, it’s good to have a hobby. 😆

Well, it’s good to have a hobby.

haha, yeah, but i can see me slowly turning into my (grand)dad!!

*stands at the bar looking cool, talking to new people*

“hello mate, nice to meet you. what sort of things are you interested in?”
“im into me shaving and i like looking at old razors”
“er….thats interesting. nice talking to you, bye” 😀

just a quick PSA for anyone who gets razor burn…. was reading on B&B that this shaveworks cool fix stuff is really good.

put in voucher code CODS15LF at checkout and youve got yourself a recommended balm plus shave cream for £8.50 inc post.

What online supplier are you using, sadex? I have been using the Shaving Shack but I’m a bit fed up with the non-delivery of items and lately an unwillingness by them, to even discuss the problem…

i dont really have one for everything woppit, as with my post above, i read forums, work out what i want then google to see cheapest, post free etc etc.
always got on well with shaving shack, thats where i bought my start up kit from (think the emails go to same place as bluebeards revenge so same shop) but i did have a discussion with them once about their set delivery charge probably sending potential customers elsewhere for small top up items. IIRC it was always dan@shavingshack or dan@bluebeard etc. that who you been talking to?

but yeah, i use any and every shop depending 😀
last few items bought have been tabac and encre noir aftershaves from amazon, a handmade shaving bowl from a lass in israel, and now that balm and cream from lookfantastic. theyve always been good to buy from, same with mankind, you ever used either of those?

EDIT: think ive also bought from ‘the traditional shaving company’ before. ive never had any problems with any of these online shops.

I tend to use …

Shaving.ie[/url]

My shaving bowl is £2.50 small Pyrex glass bowl from Lakeland.

😛

never come across that site before on my travels chewkw, thanks for another option 🙂

i mentioned a few days ago i was going to experiment with cold shaving. been trying it, then switching to hot, and my consensus is…. its no better or worse, just different 🙂
i think its got its place, maybe in summer, as ive found the quality of shave to be exactly the same. cool water may feel nicer on a hot day tho so i may just switch from time to time just for the sake of something different.

ive also been experimenting with no pre-shave, and i can also say that im not finding any difference with that either!! 😀 all these lotions and potions….all there to skint us arent they 🙂
last few days ive been shaving every day, no pre-shave and im not getting any razor burn or irritations. no great shaves either but hey ho, still experimenting. at the moment im just shaving with mild blades in a mild razor.

one experiment that has surprised me is hard water/soft water. i live in a hard water area and struggle with lather, so i thought id try some bottled water from work. this was obviously for my cold shaves, but i couldnt believe how much better using the bottled water made my lather. great creamy dollops! id have kept using the bottled water but then a new bowl i bought came through the post. nice handmade pottery bowl with ridges in the bottom and that makes a difference too. i can now get decent lather with hot water for a change so at present im happy to stick with hot shaves for the ‘pamperingness’ 🙂

sorry for waffling on a bit but you may be interested in my experience earlier today. a new barbers has just opened in town offering hot towel/cut-throat shaves, so i was interested in trying it. thought ill see what he does, see how it differs to my two sh*te efforts with the shavette and hopefully therell be less blood 🙂
haircut first, and pleasantly surprised with the best chop ive had in a long time, looking good so far. i was waiting for the hot towel but he just came over with a little plastic bowl of hot water and a cheap looking brush, not even soaked. hmmmm…… not looking so good now. dipped his fingers in the hot water and gently spread a bit of water on my face. then soaked the brush, squeezed it a bit and worked up a bit of lather from a ‘derby soap’ bowl. decent lather, and just gently spread it on my face. no swirling, figure of eights, nothing fancy, just gentle ‘painting’. then he started his first pass, with the grain. got as far as leaving me a lather goatee, then said id need a towel for this bit.
hot towel wrapped round my face for 30 secs, took it off, no lather left on my goatee but he finished off with the shavette.
i was then expecting another lather and another pass, but this is what amazed me, he just dipped his fingers in the water and dabbed it on my face. he then spent another 20 mins or so just pulling my face about feeling for the grain, then little scratchy scratchy motions with the blade. short fast ‘buffing’ here there and everywhere, dabs of water, more ‘buffing’ until finished. the end result was the best shave ive ever had, like a ickle babys botty. no irritation despite me being sure he should have used lather and shouldnt go over the same area again and again.

so….. pretty astounded at it really, its given me a benchmark now i know how close a shave can be on my face. im also a little confused as it went against all the videos ive seen and all the advice ive read.

anyone had a shave similar to this? its given me a new enthusiasm to try my shavette again anyway which could just be a bad thing! 😀

Like the “cold water in hot weather” tip. Didn’t think of that.

I definitely feel the difference if I don’t use a pre-shave oil. Razor drags more.

Also, living in a hard water area too, I changed from a finger-bowl sized shaving bowl to a larger version so I can give the brush a good pummelling with the soap – whips up a better lather.

sadexpunk – Member

never come across that site before on my travels chewkw, thanks for another option

I have ordered many items from them. Very reliable with quick delivery.

You might want to consider some of the following blades as I find them to be very good.

Polsilver Super Iridium (I got them – very good but I also have Iridium from Russia)
Polsilver Blades (Polish made – good)

USA Made Personna Super Prep DE Blades (many say they are good)
Personna USA Super Blades “Lab Blues” (as above)
Personna Platinum Red (as above)
Personna Platinum Chrome (I like them but some say they are mild)

Astra Superior Platinum (They are good but depending on the razor)
Astra Superior Blades (I don’t have these but they get good comments)

Gillette 7 O Clock Sharp Edge (I have both yellow and green – good)
Gillette Silver Blue (Good)

Feather Blades (I have the black packaging and they can be too sharp for me)

Derby Double Edge Blades (mixed feeling as I find them to be slightly inconsistent sometimes good sometimes not)

Merkur Super Platinum Stainless (Crap as far as my sample pack is concerned)

Wilkinson Sword Double Edge Blades (I think I tried them and gave them a poor rating … )

Timor Solingen DE Blades (I think I tried them in sample pack too and gave them a poor rating)

Shark Super Chrome (Others say they are good but I have not tried them)

BIG DE blades – if I can recall my Greek friend bought me some and after trying them I thought they were shite.

My general view is that all blades produced in Germany are not as good as those produce elsewhere including those from Vietnam or Thailand but better than those produced in China (plenty of fake ones by the way).

All my safety razors are Gillette ranging from adjustable to three piece (don’t have two piece) with the exception of one travel razor (the compact one where the handle is in two pieces).

got a fair few of those myself mate, not tried that many yet tho.

derbys were the first blade i ever tried and gave me such a shock at how bad they were. just dragged across my face, felt really blunt. i cant believe theyre that bad tho, so i do intend trying one again before i write them off for me.

the others ive tried…..feathers sharpest, plenty of nicks, but i did use them with an aggressive setting, so am going to try them with a mild setting soon. i get the impression ill end up with feathers.

7 o clock greens and yellows, personna blue with red writing, astra SP’s, cant really tell them apart, all smoothish and do the job well enough. israeli have been smoothest so far for me.
also got some sharks and perma sharps that i havent tried yet.

just ordered some polsilver super iridiums, so ill be interested to see how i get on with those, theyre always recommended.

thanks mate

sadexpunk – Member

… perma sharps …

Ya, got them as sample from my local vintage safety razor seller … Slightly overrated Turkish blade IMO. They are better then Derby as they are consistent but I think they are rather similar to Merkur blades.

My Polsilver Super Iridiums are very good. I got mine from Poland via my Polish friend. She thought I was turning into her father … 😯

Have the vintage DE’s arrived Dave?
If so … how they performing?

On the cold shaving. Hurts just thinking about it. I need to soak face in hot water first before shaving.
I tried the alum block after shaving … did not enjoy!
Nivea sensitive still best option for me.

no mate, over a month now >-(

followed them up today and when i put the customs number in royal mail website it said they tried to deliver 12th feb and they left a note! liars!! we’ve had no note and i also put a note on door asking for any packages to be nipped to my work if we’re out (next building). nothing!

it also says they hold packages for 18 days then send em back, so im gonna nip down the collecting office tomorrow in the hope its still there. thats just one of the razors, the other two are still in the system somewhere :-/

youre the first person ive heard of that doesnt like the alum block, i reckon it feels great 🙂 yep, the niveas good, but theyre different things i think. the alums only required for small nicks, niveas for when the alums been rinsed off.

Sounds a nightmare!

I had similar problem last time. EBay invoice showed it had been delivered, to some address in USA.
Had to wait then for a case to open/close with seller … Finally EBay refunded me.
Then week or so later it gets delivered … emailed eBay, so waiting for their reply.

I read some run alum block all over after shave before rinsing. It just irritated my neck.
Nivea is a must for me. Quick rinse of soap & rub of Nivea sensitive, no irritation or burn.

I’ve settled on:

well, the good news is the razor was still in the sorting office, so im now the proud owner of a birth year/quarter 1964 gillette slim 🙂

quick question to those in the know about these vintage razors….. it looks to be in good condition with no plate loss in fact cant fault it at the mo, but then again ive nothing to compare it to. the only thing im unsure of is the butterfly flaps. they dont have constant tension, but im not sure if thats normal or not. for example when theyre half open, they can flap about from side to side, maybe one side closes before the other. im not sure if it should just be constant tension so no looseness in them.

apart from that, the 1-9 settings all locate with a click, and when you close the razor theres a bit more oomph in the handle to close it tighter, i assume thats normal too?

wop, why did you choose those in the end? sharpness/mildness? smoothness? what other blades would you liken them to? ill probably have to order some to try, BR always gets good reviews for their other products too dont they.

thanks

EDIT: are the BR blades just plain silver or do they have the branding on them? only asking cos i cant find em anywhere except amazon without paying p&p. the reviews on amazon say theyre generic looking without branding, so part of me wonders if theyre fakes.
not worth paying £4 or whatever postage on top for a pack of blades from the shave shops, so id have to wait til i order something else from somewhere.

EDIT EDIT: like i say, the slim looks in good nick, but how can i best ‘shine it up’? read a bit on badger and blade, but theyre all using US brands such as ‘scrubbing bubbles’ or something. what english products can i soak it in and scrub up? think whitening toothpaste and a brush cleans it up after a soak, but what should i soak it in first? ta.

Couple of threads about cleaning, one here http://www.theshavingroom.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=18143

Bluebeard stuff on their own website but delivery charges are a bit steep. I’m still using Shaving Shack with a bit of a conversation going on with Dan.

I’ve been trying them against Wilkinson Sword blades and I’ve decided on them because although they feel nice and sharp like the Feathers and less draggy than the WSwords, they don’t leave me with a red and lumpy chin and the same with that tricky bit under the nose.

They’re relatively cheap at SShack at £2.99 for ten. I think the lack of any branding on the blades might account for this.

Feather blades here on an EJ.

View this post on Instagram

Blades, #shaving #lastalifetime #feather #sliceyourfaceopen

A post shared by David Richardson (@suiontour) on Mar 4, 2015 at 4:06am PST

I’ve stopped using soap, couldn’t get the lather and ended up with quite a dry feeling after.

so i’ve got me

tis a game changer big time..

thanks holyzeus, interesting reading. ive tried a couple of those, soaked in soapy water, then hot water with a dishwasher tablet, then a rinse and a bit of cillit bang. finished with a toothbrush and whitening toothpaste, it looks a little cleaner but i think it needs a proper polish before itll come up shiny shiny.
good thing is tho that even if it doesnt come any better than what it is now id still be well pleased with it.

first shave with it will be tonight, probably start on 4 or 5 and see how that goes.

I used an electric toothbush and whatever mild abrasive stuff hanging about. Whitening toothpaste worked pretty good. And a bit of fairy washing up liquid too.

To get the doors polished I used brasso and ran it over with a felt polishing end on the dremel.

The doors will be a bit loose as they are opened. Normal.
One word of caution. Make sure the TTO is tight as your using it, mine came loose and I didn`t notice till it was too late … there was blood!

I find setting 5 best for against the grain on neck.
My Flair tip still does best job though.

thanks mate, ive got some brasso somewhere so ill try and dig it out, i wasnt sure how brasso would react with chrome.
one thing tho, some of the black has worn off the numbering. its not a problem but would polishing with brasso make it worse and rub more of the black off?

i used setting 5 last night with an israeli. felt instantly better than my merkur, dont know why tho, cant put my finger on it. smaller, lighter, easier, but there again so was my EJ but i preferred the merkur to that. strange.
after last nights shave my skin was only very slightly pinkish and sensitive, so i may experiment with a 4, see if it makes a difference or whether its the blade. ill keep playing around with it tho, changing one thing at a time, always experimenting 🙂 ill keep trying the mildish blades tho for a while, then when ive got it as good as it can be ill maybe try changing the settings bit by bit, ive got to at least try a shave on no 9 havent i 😀

course, ill maybe have my other 2 razors by then to play with too, plus i want another go with the shavette…….its all fun int it 😀

See if you find it makes a difference … may just be placebo.
After you use a new blade. Turn it over … I find it gives a smoother shave the next time. Don`t know why it would, but it def feels smoother.

I’ve been following this thread with interest after getting a DE razor for my birthday back in December. Since then I’ve had a bit of a love/hate relationship with it. I love the lathering up of the soap and brushing routine. But I’ve struggled getting a good shave without lots of cuts and razor burn. So much so that I went back to Mach 3’s for a while. I’ve tried Muhle and Derby blades that came with the razor and was not impressed with either. Then, perhaps foolishly went on to a Feather after recommendations on here. First shave with them – that was blood bath!

So after a few weeks off i thought I would try again yesterday. Hot shower, some cheap shave oil from Home Bargains, then the soap. First time I had soaked the brush and the lather I got was so much better than before. This time I started on my neck as this is where the problem usually is. It was a shaving epiphany. Everything just worked, no cuts, no burn, smooth finish 😀

I’m now a convert and to celebrate have ordered some more pre, during and post shave products recommended from all the chat here.

One recommendation from me is Arko shave soap. Looks cheap, is cheap but works great. I just squashed a stick of it into a old hair gel tub.

haha, and so it starts! welcome to the club 🙂
what razor were you using by the way? muhle, or were they the blades?

ant, i tried that blade flip last night. hard to say whether i notice any real difference, but i was using my new 40s style. that and the flare tip came in the post yesterday so i couldnt resist trying one of them, ill try the flare tonight. same blade tho.
cant believe how much smoother these gillettes are to both my merkur, and the EJ that i had, they just feel so good to shave with. i wouldnt say theyre as close as id like, but then again i may be being spoilt after having the cut throat the other day.

riofer, ive just ordered some arko too, it was only a couple of quid so thought its worth a try. ill rub it into my face first tho rather than stick it in a pot.

Razor is a Muhle Vivo closed comb. Just getting used to it now so planning to resist the urge to start looking at vintage Gillettes for a while 🙂

sadex – which do you find gives the better shave, open or closed-comb razor?

is this a closed comb or is it just ‘design’?

if so then thats the only ‘comb’ ive tried, certainly never tried OC, altho id like to out of curiosity. cant say as i really notice the comb on the merkur, im not skilled enough to spot the small differences in these razors yet. all i know is the 3 gillette vintage razors ive got are smoother and nicer to shave with.

Agree with you there Dave. They are unbelievable smooth.
I use Arko soap. Really good stuff.

The flair tip I have feels almost too smooth when using it. Even going against the grain around my chin there is no irritation. I cannot imagine having a closer shave because any closer and skin would need to be removed.

If anybody looking for a Gillette Slim. I am selling one of mine.
It`s a L3(1966 July/Aug/Sep) if anybody interested in the year.
Works perfectly. Clicks through all 9 settings. All nice and shiney on doors etc … with some plate loss on inside as is quite usual.
Looking to get back what I paid (covering paypal & P&P) … £35 posted
Email in profile if interested and want more pix . ta

mooman – Member

If anybody looking for a Gillette Slim. I am selling one of mine.

Oooouuu! That’s a nice Slim. Very good shaver as I got two. (must not hoard, must not hoard …)

sadexpunk, this is your chance to own a Slim and the price is good. Grab it before someone else does or I may buy it for friend as present. If you do buy it and does not like it sell it back to STW folks, which I am sure will take it off you.

Get it quick …

In the meantime, I just won ebay bid on Gillette tech yesterday after missing so many previously especially open comb type.

😀

Interested in the razor – have dropped you a PM Anthony

I’ve already got one mate, thanks for the heads up tho. Ants is probably in better nick than mine but mines a birth year and quarter so I’ll stick with mine.

Thanks

Dave – You have probably got enough razors for the time being anyways.

I originally bought this to make up a shaving pack for when my son graduates next year. He used to be a James Bond fan (James Bond uses a Slim you know!) … but he is in the beardy hipster stage at mo. So razors are out I guess.

Slim is now sold.

chewkw – Member

In the meantime, I just won ebay bid on Gillette tech yesterday after missing so many previously especially open comb type.

I dont know too much about the Techs. How much do they normally go for?
This morning I was lucky enough to get a good deal on a Red tip and a fat handle gold Tech.
The Red tip was my main target, but the Tech came as part of the deal … so I will probably try to sell on the Tech (and another Red tip I got Saturday).